Shane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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They would probably have had a better chance of finding it on the map. They had no idea of the geography of the Republic of Ireland. As far as they were concerned, their country came to an end at the Border and extended no further. It was a frightening realisation that these Irish people had no concept whatsoever of the geography of the Republic of Ireland. If one has people on the same island who could not find County Meath on the map, just down the road from them, that gives an insight into how far we have to go in the journey towards peace and reconciliation. There are, however, incremental steps being taken. When the First Minister, Ms Arlene Foster, attended the Ulster Final last year, it received acres of news coverage. Until that becomes the norm, we have a long way to go.

In that respect, sport can play a significant role. Organisations such as the Irish Rugby Football Union, a 32-county organisation, have a buy-in in both sections of the community. The GAA has always been a 32-county organisation and is making strides in communities in the North to try to ensure sport can be a builder, but what was insightful was that when the Republic of Ireland played the North in a soccer friendly match before Christmas at Lansdowne Road, there were terrible scenes, with people booing during the playing of both national anthems. It resonated the hate still felt in the country. Given this lingering level of hate in communities and having regard to recent dissident activity, including the car bomb, there is still significant work to be done. That is why I have referred to the work taking place week in and week out in communities. It must be remembered that it is happening at a time when the political parties in the North cannot get their act together to form a parliament, now the parliament which has been suspended for the longest period anywhere in the world, bar none.

The petitioner refers to the fact that the people must decide their own future. They have decided. We had a protracted discussion on the amendment of Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution. The extraction of the words in those articles from the Constitution was a major issue for all republicans, but it was done to create a pathway towards an united Ireland. Has the petitioner forgotten this? I have not. I know what a significant and seismic shift it was for people living in this state to make that change to the Constitution. People, North and South, bought into it in order that the children who come to the Houses of the Oireachtas on school tours would not have to listen to weekly reports on news bulletins on RTÉ and the BBC on people being blown to smithereens. Let us remember that this happened in Omagh 20 years ago.

I welcome this discussion. It is welcome that there is a pathway towards an united Ireland and that there are people working quietly to try to make it happen.